Fundamentals of Therapy
GA 27
Translated by E. A. Frommer and J. Josephson
Preface to the First Edition
[ 1 ] The teacher, leader and friend, Rudolf Steiner, is no longer among the living. A serious illness, which began with physical exhaustion, swept him away. In the middle of his work he had to lie down to rest, his strength, which he had given so abundantly and so unreservedly to his work in the Anthroposophical Society, was no longer sufficient to overcome his illness. And all those who loved and revered him had to experience it with tremendous pain that the man loved by so many, he who had been able to help so many people, had to let fate rule in his own case, knowing full well that higher powers were guiding him.
[ 2 ] The fruit of united work has been set down in this little book.
[ 3 ] As a doctor, I was able to fully accept the teachings of anthroposophy, which are a goldmine of inspiration for medical science in particular, and found in them a source of wisdom from which one could draw tirelessly and which could illuminate and solve many problems in medicine that are still unsolved today. Thus, Rudolf Steiner and I developed a lively collaboration on medical knowledge, which deepened especially in the last two years, so that the joint writing of a book was possible and could come about. It was always Rudolf Steiner's endeavor - and I fully understood him in this - to renew the old Mystery Being and to allow it to flow into medicine. For from time immemorial this mystery being has been closely connected with the art of healing, and the attainment of spiritual knowledge has been associated with healing. Scientific medicine should not be underestimated in a dilettantish, amateurish way; it was fully recognized. However, it was important to add to the existing knowledge that which can flow from a true knowledge of the spirit for the understanding of the processes of illness and healing. Of course, the soul-instinctive nature of the old mysteries was not to be revived, but one that corresponds to the fully developed modern consciousness that has been elevated to the spiritual.
[ 4 ] So the first beginnings were made, and the clinical-therapeutic institute I founded in Arlesheim provided the practical documentation for the theories presented here. And an attempt was made to show ways for the art of healing to those who desire an expansion of their medical knowledge in the sense indicated here.
[ 5 ] We had intended to follow up this little book with some more of our joint work. Unfortunately, this was no longer possible. However, I intend to use the many suggestions and notes I have to write a second, perhaps even a third volume. - But may this first volume, the manuscript of which was corrected by Rudolf Steiner with joy and inner satisfaction three days before his death, find its way to all those who seek to understand life in its glory and greatness from the riddles of life.
Arlesheim-Dornach, September 1925.
Ita Wegman, Dr. med.